Oct. 5, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
A recommended San Francisco ban on kids' meal toys, which would affect primarily McDonald's. (AP)
San Francisco’s planning commission has recommended a full vote on a partial ban on toy sales with children’s meals at fast food restaurants. The proposed legislation would make it illegal for toys to be given alongside kids’ meals that didn’t meet certain criteria.
The city’s board will take a full vote that could result in legislation in a few weeks. As the biggest player in this space, Oak Brook-based McDonald’s is at the center of this storm. Get the full story »
Oct. 1, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Insurance
Bloomberg News | Senator Jay Rockefeller opened a probe into the limited benefit “mini-med” plans that McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, offers to employees.
Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, asked Scott Beacham, chief executive officer of BCS Financial Corp., whether the company’s health offerings amount to a good deal for many of McDonald’s low-wage and hourly employees. Closely held BCS Financial, based in Oakbrook Terrace, offers limited- benefit plans that cover 30,000 employees of McDonald’s, based about a mile away in Oak Brook Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 6:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Franchises,
Health care,
Insurance,
Restaurants
By Bruce Japsen
A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 10:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Health care,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Workers at a McDonald's restaurant in Oak Brook. (Tribune photo by Terry Harris)
McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers’ health plans as the law ripples through the real world. Get the full story »
Sep. 27, 2010 at 4:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
A McDonald's Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. The chain plans to introduce larger wraps. (McDonald's)
McDonald’s is supersizing its snack wraps. A company spokeswoman confirmed that the chain is testing a variety of larger wraps, with chicken, sauce and a variety of vegetables, in various downtown Chicago locations.
The $4 wraps come with grilled or fried chicken and a variety of flavors: Santa Fe BBQ, Garden Ranch, or Roma Pesta, with tomato pesto and garlic mayonnaise. News of the chicken-wrap test was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
McDonald’s president and chief operating officer Don Thompson said that the company was hatching a number of new wraps in July, based on the understanding that consumers are looking for more flavor variety. Get the full story »
Sep. 23, 2010 at 9:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Franchises,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
McDonald’s Corp. is boosting its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to 61 cents, and analysts expect the world’s biggest hamburger chain to continue returning cash to shareholders while still investing in its restaurants.
Sep. 16, 2010 at 10:22 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s was ranked the world’s sixth most valuable brand, according to Interbrand’s ranking of the top 100 “Best Global Brands” released on Thursday. Coca-Cola was the world’s most valuable brand for the 11th straight year, and HP entered the top 10 for the first time.
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Ad showing corpse holding a hamburger. (PCRM ad)
McDonald’s Corp. is the target of a new television commercial set to air in Washington, D.C., Thursday that blames the burger giant for heart disease.
In the commercial, produced by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a woman weeps over a dead man lying in a morgue. In his hand is a hamburger. At the end, the golden arches appear over his feet, followed by the words, “I was lovin’ it,” a play on McDonald’s longtime ad slogan, “I’m lovin’ it.” A voiceover says, “High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian.” Get the full story »
Sep. 10, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Food,
Investing,
Restaurants
By Reuters
(Reuters/Molly Riley/Files)
Moody’s Investors Service said on Friday it may raise its ratings on McDonald’s Corp. due to solid operating performance and growth prospects.
Moody’s placed McDonald’s A3 senior unsecured rating, the seventh-highest rating, and Prime-2 short-term commercial paper rating on review for possible upgrade.
“The review for possible upgrade reflects McDonald’s solid operating performance achieved through various strategic initiatives such as new product innovation, cost savings, re-imaging and new restaurant growth,” Moody’s analyst Bill Fahy said in a statement. Get the full story »
Sep. 9, 2010 at 7:11 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Fast-food giant McDonald’s says a key revenue figure rose 4.6 percent in the U.S. in August, as customers continued to come in for its frappes and smoothies. The world’s largest hamburger chain says overall its August sales at restaurants open at least 13 months climbed 4.9 percent.
Sep. 7, 2010 at 8:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Work culture
By Becky Yerak
Northern Trust Corp., McDonald’s Corp. and State Farm Insurance Cos. made the list of Black Enterprise magazine’s “40 best companies for diversity.” The three companies also made the list in 2009. Get the full story »
Sep. 7, 2010 at 5:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Burger King's new blueberry muffins. (AP/Burger King)
Burger King is introducing nine new breakfast items including blueberry biscuits and pancake platters and planning a major breakfast marketing blitz — all with an eye toward eating up some of McDonald’s morning business.
The chain said the move Tuesday is its biggest introduction of new items at one time ever. It also includes iced coffee from Seattle’s Best. Get the full story »
Sep. 3, 2010 at 9:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Media,
Restaurants
By Michael Oneal
A McDonald's double cheeseburger. (Kevin Pang/Tribune)
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp. came in last in a new Consumer Reports rating of fast-food burgers, the magazine said Friday.
Burger King and Wendy’s fared a little better, but the top honors went to smaller regional chains like California’s In-N-Out Burger and Virginia-based Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which has several locations in Chicago. Get the full story »
Aug. 26, 2010 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Litigation,
Restaurants
By Tribune staff report
A Northlake woman sued McDonald’s in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that her daughter was seriously burned in 2009 when a hot chocolate she ordered from the fast-food giant spilled and seriously burned her leg.
Vicki LaRocco bought the hot chocolate for her daughter on April 28, 2009, at a McDonald’s drive-through window in Schiller Park, according to the lawsuit. She said the lid of the cup was improperly secured, however, and the beverage spilled onto LaRocco’s daughter, causing “severe pain and scarring,” the suit states. Get the full story>>
Aug. 24, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Food,
Restaurants
By Emily Bryson York
McDonald’s has named Steve Easterbrook as its global chief brand officer. Easterbrook takes the newly-created position September 1, after serving as president and chief executive of McDonald’s United Kingdom and president of Europe’s Northern division.
Easterbrook will be taking over the responsibilities of Mary Dillon, who vacated the role of global chief marketing officer in May, to become CEO of U.S. Cellular. In his role, he will report to president and chief operating officer Don Thompson. Get the full story »
